COUNTRY PROFILE: FGM IN THE GAMBIA MARCH 2015 Registered Charity : No. 1150379 Limited Company: No. 08122211 E-mail:
[email protected] © 28 Too Many 2015 CONTENTS PREFACE 4 FOREWORD 5 BACKGROUND 8 PURPOSE 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10 INTRODUCTION 12 NATIONAL STATISTICS 14 POLITICAL BACKGROUND 16 ANTHROPOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 18 OVERVIEW OF FGM IN THE GAMBIA 24 TYPE OF FGM AND PRACTITIONERS 29 SOCIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 32 HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 35 WOMEN’S HEALTH AND INFANT MORTALITY 36 EDUCATION 40 RELIGION 44 MEDIA 46 ATTITUDES AND KNOWLEDGE RELATING TO FGM 48 LAWS RELATING TO FGM 55 INTERVENTIONS AND ATTEMPTS TO ERADICATE FGM 57 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS 62 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ORGANISATIONS 66 CHALLENGES FACED BY ANTI-FGM 69 INITIATIVES 69 CONCLUSIONS 70 APPENDIX I - LIST OF INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN THE GAMBIA 73 APPENDIX II - REFERENCES 74 PREFACE It is my great pleasure to write the Preface for this report on the current state of FGM in The Gambia. I have been undertaking research in The Gambia for over 35 years and during that time I have developed a real and deep admiration and respect for the women of the country. The women of The Gambia perform the challenging roles of wives and mothers, food producers, income earners and are the stalwarts of their families and communities, this is despite the fact that a majority of them have been subjected to FGM. FGM in The Gambia is still legal and is often mistakenly justified on religious grounds.